


Superman at the Supermarket

by Caliske_XP



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Romance, Secret Identity, Strangers to Lovers, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-05 16:29:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14048277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliske_XP/pseuds/Caliske_XP
Summary: "Hello again, Superman.""I'm not Superman!"When Niall forgets to change out of his super suit to do his groceries and all his secrets might be revealed by that one cute cashier who steals his heart.





	1. Prologue ~ I'm not Superman

He is sitting on the edge of the roof of one of the larger skyscrapers. His legs are swinging gently as he hums softly to himself. His blue eyes are scanning the city at night. It's buzzing, lights and people everywhere. He loves seeing the happy couples running around, the families... This is why he does what he does. He gets to help people and give the bad guys what they deserve.

Niall has just returned from a simple bank robbery. No one had gotten hurt and within a few minutes, he had the thieves handcuffed and handed over to the police. Then he had disappeared before anyone could get a hold of him. Part of his superhero image is the mystery around his identity. He always wears a small mask, covering half his face. It leaves his eyes free and the lower half of his face. The green thing only just covers his cheekbones. His hair he spray-paints blond whenever he goes out in his green and orange suit. 

He hasn't been doing this for a very long time, though. He had only discovered his powers a good six months ago when he had woken up floating above his bed. 

It had been quite a shock for him to discover what else he could do. He doesn't have an explanation for how he got these powers. He is pretty sure his parents don't have any powers. He had subtly asked but kept the powers a secret for the rest. There is also no kidnapping or experiments performed on his body that he can remember, so it will stay a mystery to everyone. 

In his every-day life, Niall is a twenty-two-year-old, who lives with his roommate and best friend, Harry Styles. Despite the two of them knowing each other for ten years, Niall had kept his second identity a secret for Harry too, although it's a little bit harder to keep the secret. He has to hide the suit and spray dye from the younger man, which is hard, considering Harry not only loves cleaning but is also very curious. 

But Niall manages. He is on his own, working a job as a writer, which gives him a lot of free time too. He is not famous, but his work earns him enough to survive. He is content with the way his life is going now. 

The blue flashing police lights catch his attention immediately. Niall sighs. "I've got work to do." He hums and smiles. He yawns loudly before he pushes himself off the building in a free drop to the ground, hundreds of meters beneath him. A smile forms on his face as the wind blows hard in his face, the ground nearing rapidly. 

And then he spreads his arms and flies up, letting out a shout of pure adrenaline as he lets his power do the work for him as he flies through the streets of Dublin, chasing the police cars he saw a minute ago. 

It's not long before he sees what is going on. How could he have missed it? The fire department had already arrived at the smaller apartment building and Niall lands next to the chief commander. 

"Status?" He asks, eyeing the blazing flames. 

"There is a family stuck on the level of the fire." He tells the superhero and shakes his head. "We are trying to get the fire under control right now." 

Niall nods and clenches his yaw. "I'll get the family out." He says and runs into the building, not waiting for an answer. He ignores the firefighters inside, trying to make their way past the flames. Niall doesn't waste any time. He kicks in the door and eyes the situation inside the apartment. Everything is on fire. Thick black smoke is filling the hallway and he can't see far past the entrance. 

So Niall spreads his hands at his sides and creates a glowing white force field in a bubble around himself before he walks in. "Hello? Where are you?" He yells, hoping he will get an answer soon. The coughing comes from his right and he hurries to the kitchen in the middle of the apartment. "Help!" The voice sounds weak and as soon as Niall walks in, he sees a family huddled together in a corner, cowering low to the ground to get away from the smoke. 

The mother is holding onto two younger kids, a girl and a boy. The father is trying to lift a heavy looking wooden beam from the legs of another son. Niall's eyes widen. He hurries towards the family in the corner and creates a bubble around them from the large one he has around himself with clean air. "Get out." He says. "The flames won't hurt you with the bubble around you. I'll be out soon with the rest."

The mother is nodding, coughing still as she leads her two kids out. Niall doesn't waste time watching them leave and instead, turns to the two other members of the family. He encloses them with what is left of the bubble as he comes closer. He reaches behind his back to take the stick, a bo, he always carries with him. It's made of a very hard material, something that won't break anytime soon. He fights with it when he needs it. But this time, as he presses the button and watches it expand to its full length, he won't use it to fight. Instead, he puts the bo underneath the beam and presses down on it, using it as a heaver to lift the beam. 

"Get him away." He says as soon as the wood is lifted off the boy's legs. His father pulls him out from underneath the thing and lifts him up carefully. "Follow me," Niall says and helps the two last family members out of the burning flat. 

As soon as they get out of the building, medics tend to the hurt boy. Niall sees the three family members who got out earlier in another ambulance, a mask on their face for fresh air. He smiles they will be okay. He turns back to the building and hums. His bo is back on its place on his back. All that's left is to stop the fire now. 

He raises his hands to the building and creates a large force field around the building. As soon as that is established, he starts shrinking it, letting the clean air filter out of it. It's a vacuum and the smaller the bubble gets, the weaker the flames burn until finally, all flames are gone. 

The crowd that had gathered around the scene starts applauding. Niall turns around and eyes them. 

"Go, Superman!" 

"You saved them! Thank you, Superman!" 

The spectators shout as he turns to look at them. He sees a few reporters are there too and a camera crew. They start to come towards him, their microphones raised and already shouting questions at him. 

"It's not Superman. I'm not Superman." He says, more to himself than anyone else. The media have never been very creative, but Niall does not want to be called after the alien dressed in blue and red spandex. 

"What should we call you then?" Niall jumps as he hears the voice from right next to him and when he turns his head, a microphone is shoved in his face. He sighs and walks away, towards where the medics are still taking care of the family. 

"Will they be okay?" He asks a lady tending to the two kids and the mother. She looks up and nods. 

"They will be. The other kid broke his legs, but he will be fine in time." She tells him, and Niall smiles in relief. 

"Sir?" The younger kid gets up and hugs his legs. "Thank you for saving us, and my brother." Niall bends down to ruffle his hair and look into his eyes. 

"You are a very brave kid. Take good care of your family, alright?" He gives him a lopsided grin. "I have to go now." He stands up again and nods at the mother. The last thing he sees before he flies off is the mouthed 'Thank you.' 

~*~

Niall lands in an alley near his and Harry's flat. He sighs as he takes the water bottle he hid behind some dumpsters and pours it over his head. The blond dye washes out easily and Niall dries his head quickly. Then he takes off his mask and suit and changes into his normal clothes quickly. He pushes the suit into a bag he hid in the same spot and dusts himself off. He makes sure his hair is flat against his forehead as he puts in the brown contact lenses and puts his glasses on his nose. 

Then he walks home and climbs up the stairs to the flat. He opens the door with his keys and walks in. 

"You are late." Harry pouts when he sees Niall walk in. "Good thing I started dinner late too." Niall chuckles. 

"Sorry, Haz." He smiles and drops the bag by his bedroom door. He will hide it from the giant in their kitchen later. Then he quickly sets the table. 

"It's fine. I was watching the news." He smiles and looks at Niall. "That superhero saved another family today." 

"Oh no. Not another fanboy episode, Harry. I'm not in the mood." Niall groans teasingly as he helps Harry put the food on the table. 

"Come on, Ni. He is a hero. He is amazing." Niall can hear the adoration in his best friend's voice. 

It feels so awkward for Niall. Talking about himself like that to his flatmate, who probably has a celebrity crush on his alter ego. 

"He is just another wannabe." Is what he decides to say to counter Harry.

Harry gasps. "No, of course not. It's so clear the Green Strike is not doing this for the attention. He never even gives an interview." 

Niall hums and tastes the food. "The Green Strike..." 

"Yeah. Just came up with that. He said that he doesn't want to be called Superman anymore. And he is right, you know. He is not Superman, though he does have those amazing blue eyes." 

Niall groans loudly. "Oh my God, Harry." He takes his plate and walks into the living room. "I don't want to hear any of that ass-licking." 

"Hey!" Harry yells from the kitchen and Niall laughs at how silly they are being. 

"It's fine, Hazza." He tells the younger lad as he sits down next to him on the couch. "You'll always be my best friend." 

"Aw, thanks, Niall. You know. If you had blue eyes, I would believe you were the Green Strike." 

Niall freezes in his seat, only to relax a second later as Harry starts talking again. 

"But, you know. You aren't as brave as him, you don't have blue eyes, you don't have blond hair, you don't have the muscles, you- hey!" 

Niall slaps his arm. 

"Fuck off, Harry!" He laughs happily. 


	2. Chapter 1 ~ A Supermarket Fiasco

"Could you maybe pick up some bananas from the shop? We ran out." Harry yells from the other room as Niall is throwing his stuff on his bag hurriedly. He has an appointment with his publisher to discuss his progress and he is running late already. 

"Yeah, okay." He yells back. He hopes he will remember when he is on his way home. He knows his roommate will complain all day if he does forget to run by the shop. 

"And some bread!" The tall, curly-haired lad adds to the shopping list, making Niall grumble under his breath. 

"Anything else?" 

"Well, could you... no, I'm on a diet. No candy. Bread and bananas are okay." Niall hears the low voice from the other room. 

"I'll try," Niall calls back. "Bye, Harry!" He slams the door shut behind himself and stumbles through the hallway towards the elevator as he tries to get his shoes on while walking. Scolding himself to get up too late once again, he gets into the lift with the old lady from upstairs. He is still trying to get on his left shoe. 

"Hello, Miss Beaker." He greets her as the old lady scoffs. She is never in a good mood. She turns her head to the side and Niall sees it as a victory. At least she is not complaining about how Harry and he are always being too loud like she usually does. 

As soon as the elevator doors open, Niall is out, hurrying outside and down the sidewalk for the ten-minute-walk to his publisher's office. He easily moves past the people without touching any of them. He knows his way around Dublin, even the smallest alleys. He knows in which alleys the most crime happens. He checks them out every now and then when there is nothing major going on. 

He arrives soon, shooting a greeting to the secretary who tells him his publisher is expecting him and to go right in. So he does, hurrying up the set of stairs to the upper floor and knocking on the door. 

"Come in." 

Niall opens the door and pastes his best smile on his face. He knows he looks very dorky with his glasses, hair slicked back and the formal clothes. "I'm sorry I'm late." He tells her. 

"It's fine. I only just arrived myself." Clara tells him from her seat at her desk. "Have a seat, Mr. Horan." 

So Niall sits down on the black chair in front of her desk, taking out the papers he printed early this morning in a hurry. 

"So, your next novel is due in a month, how is it coming along?" She asks, her grey eyes studying his reaction. 

Niall smiles politely and hands her the paper. "I'm almost finished. It's going good, miss Lancaster." He tells her as she looks over the statistics and a short abstract about the plot. He knows there will be a lot of work left. The editing team will probably change some parts of the plot too and in the worst case, he will have to rewrite half of it. But for now, his job is just to deliver the prototype of his next work. 

"This looks amazing once again." She tells him and places the paper in a folder at the side of her desk. "As you know, we have something more to discuss." 

Niall nods, aware that his contract for the company will end in a few months. He hopes they will renew it. The pay is amazing. 

"Your contract will end once your novel is published and in the bookshop." She runs her red, manicured nails through her grey hair. Niall guesses she is older than fifty, even though she doesn't look a day older than forty. "We don't want you to leave us yet. You make great profit on your books, and the readers do really like you. So, we have decided to offer you another contract." 

Niall nods at here, distracted by the window right behind her. He can see the blue and red lights flash as they drive by the office. He can hear the sirens of the emergency services. It's the police and a few ambulances. He has to go. 

"... to write five more years for us and publish one book every year. There are more conditio-" 

"Seems like a good deal." Niall says, stuffing the rest of his papers back in his bag and getting up. "I'll think about it. Send me the contract and the conditions on my mail and I'll have a look at them." 

Miss Lancaster looks at him bewildered. "Mr. Horan..." 

"Thanks for having me today." He smiles at her politely. "I have to go. Bye." He hates leaving like this, but people's lives are at stake here. There might even be children involved and Niall won't be able to live with himself if he could have stopped it from happening and didn't. So he suppresses the feeling of guilt as he hurries out of the office and steps in the elevator. He presses the button to go to the top floor and hurries to find the door to the roof. 

"Come on, come on." He tells himself as he gets into his suit, spray-dyes his hair, takes out his contacts and hides his bag quickly. He then stands on the edge of the roof and frowns. He lost sight of the ambulances. He has no idea where to go. 

The sound of his cellphone beeping distracts him from looking out over the city. He gets it quickly and checks the text. It's from an unknown number. 

_**Stephen's Green shopping center, Dublin 2.** _

Niall frowns behind his mask. It's the address of a shopping center in the very center of Dublin city. There is no more information, but he feels like this just may be the place he is supposed to be. 

So he puts his phone away and jumps off the building. This time he doesn't waste time making the entire drop. Instead, he flies straight to the address the text mentioned. It isn't long before the sight of police cars and ambulances meets him. He lands straight in the middle between the panicked officers. "What's going on here?" Niall asks, looking over the building. Behind them, a crowd of spectators has formed. 

"Robbery with hostages." A police officer says. "They have guns and have locked down the entire building. There are at least ten of them." 

Niall nods worried. "Is there any way I can get inside?" He asks them and the officer nods. "Through the roof. It's entirely out of glass and they always leave some panels opened for fresh air. You could slip in through there." 

"Thank you, officer," Niall tells him and immediately flies to the top of the building, looking inside and seeing five armed criminals immediately. They are walking around, keeping an eye on the civilians they pushed against the wall with their hands on their heads. Niall can see the panic on their faces. 

He has to be careful about this. If one of them sees him, they will surely alarm each other and start shooting or threatening civilians. He waits until he sees one of the men wander off towards a corner away from the crowd. He takes his chance and lets himself fall out of the air, into the building. He lands soundlessly behind the man with one swift movement he takes his bo from his back and hits the man against his head, knocking him unconscious. Before he can fall to the ground, Niall catches him. 

He looks around. No one had seen anything. He quickly drags the man into a shop and disarms him, tying him up with a few articles of clothing. Sometimes he has to be creative with these things. 

Niall than hides behind the wall at the entrance. He is looking into a mirror to see what is going on in the big hall. Two of the other men are on their way over, making Niall curse under his breath. When two of them come over the chance is big one of them can scream before he took them both out. Quickly he thinks of a plan.

When the two goons come closer and call out to their friend, he knows what to do. He waits for them to enter the building and throws a force field around one of the men, which he makes entirely soundproof. he then shrinks it and lets out the air so the man inside is shocking, grabbing at his own throat. 

All of that happens in a second, in which the other man looks at his friend confused before also getting hit on the head with Niall's bo. He too gets knocked out and is tied up next to the first one. 

When the third goon passes out due to lack of air, Niall removes the forcefield and ties him up to next to the others. He makes sure they are gagged too so they can't betray his position before taking down the other two men. 

And so he sneaks out of the shop he hides behind the small wooden shed they build for a pop-up Flying Tiger shop. He hurries around it and finds himself eye-in-eye with one of the last guys. 

"Shit." He brings out, knowing damn well he has been discovered. In a fast move, he swings the bo at the other guy's head, who dodges it and hits Niall with the back of his gun. The superhero takes the full blow and groans when he sees stars. He feels the man grab his suit by the front and drag him out of his hiding space. 

"Hey, Chester! Look what I've found." The goon calls out to his buddy and chuckles as the other one looks over in surprise. 

"Superman? You caught Superman?" He laughs in disbelieve. 

Niall shakes his head and looks at the two of them. "How many times do I have to tell you people that I am not Superman?" He groans. "Do I look like a frickin' alien?" 

They both look at him in disbelieve. "We captured you and that is what you worry about?" The man shakes his head. "Hold him while I shoot him." 

The next thing Niall knows is the gun pointing at his head. The grip of the man behind him has tightened around his shoulders. 

"For fuck's sake," Niall swears and rolls his eyes. 

The gunshot echoes through the hall, but the bullet never gets anywhere near the hero. The forcefield he created around himself bounced it off into a wall. 

He takes the second of surprise that captures the criminals as opportunity to escape. He places his foot on the forcefield and pushes backward. The goon behind him doesn't see it coming and falls back on the floor. Niall falls on top of him, but quickly jumps up and turns to him. He pushes the button on his bo to make the stick extend. The man struggles to get up and abandons the gun that fell on the floor. 

He leaps at the hero in front of him and tries to hit him with his fists, but Niall is faster than him. All he has to do is poke the bo between his feet and step aside to not have the man trip and fall on him. 

Instead, he falls forwards and hits his head on an iron flower container. He gets knocked out cold. 

But there is one more person to take care of and Niall swirls around, ready to pounce on the last goon. 

He widens his eyes when he takes in the scene. 

The man has his gun pressed against a young woman's head. She is crying in fear and clawing at the man's arm, wrapped around her shoulder and neck. She is pregnant. 

"Step closer and I'll shoot her. " He threatens. 

Niall drops the bo and kicks it away from himself. "Okay, I'm not going to attack. Just let her go." He says carefully, not wanting to make any sudden movements. "If you let her go, I'll let you walk free. No police, nothing." He says. 

"As if." He growls. "Stay where you are, hands where I can see them." 

Niall puts his hands up. He keeps a close eye on the male as he shuffles back with the woman still near him. "Come on, man. Just let her go. She is having a baby." 

"I don't care! Shut up!" 

Another gunshot echoes through the hall. The other hostages scream in panic, not knowing what is going on. 

Niall darts towards the lady and catches her when she falls, away from the body of the criminal. A police officer of the special team is standing in the main entrance, gun still in his hand. More agents start to come in the shopping center. 

"It's okay." He tells the crying girl in his arms. "We got 'em all. You are safe." He rubs her back trying to comfort her. "Go with the nice officer over there and she will help you to medical attention. We don't want any extra stress for the baby." He tells her. "It will all be okay." 

She is taken away from him. Niall is still a bit shaken himself but walks to the nearest officer to tell him where he left the rest of the criminals. He doesn't waste any time listening to anyone or anything as he pushes off the ground and flies away to where he left his things. 

He never had to deal with anyone dying before and finds himself to be in some sort of trance as he picks up his stuff and slings the backpack over his shoulder. He takes the elevator down and tries to shake off the feeling of shock. 

He has more stuff to do today. Like, go to the nearest supermarket on his way home. He had promised Harry after all.

It is only when he notices the small crowd gathering around himself when he is picking out bread that he realizes. He has not yet changed out of his super suit. The green and orange spandex is clinging to his body just like it was half an hour ago when he was in the shopping center. 

Niall curses himself silently for his stupidity, deciding it is too late to change now anyway. He will be getting the damn bananas and bread he needed in the first place before changing back into his normal clothes. 

All eyes are on him, he can feel it and feels awkward when he sees a teenage girl staring at him with heart-eyes. An elderly lady is goggling his ass, which he knows looks amazing, but still, he has never felt this awkward before. He hopes the teenager will leave him alone. He is twenty-six for God's sake, and not even into girls. This is almost just as bad as hearing Harry crush over his alter ego and hear the porn dreams he had over him. 

"Superman?" There is a tug on his sleeve and when Niall looks down, he sees an adorable little boy looking up at him with glossy brown eyes. His brown curls are hanging over his face. "Up?" He makes grabby hands, and Niall abandons the bread he was holding so he can pick up the little guy. He loves Children. 

He looks around to see who the little boy belongs to and sees his mother nod at him.

"I love you, Superman." The boy whispers and hugs the older man tight. "You saved my mommy from the terrible man."

It makes Niall smile at him. It's always nice to know that he saved a family from sadness. "You are welcome, sweetheart." He strokes his back and beams when the toddler pats his cheek with his hand before making grabby hands to his mother. She steps forward and takes him from the superhero. "Thank you." She whispers to him.

When she disappears into another aisle to continue shopping, he notices that more people have gathered around him. He blushes bright red. Niall is usually very good at avoiding crowds and press staring at him and throwing questions at him. Coming to the supermarket today had been a mistake. He blames Harry for this. 

He quickly turns around and gets the bread he was holding and puts it in a bag before turning again.

"Excuse me." He quickly says as he makes his way through the crowd, bread in his hand and going for the bananas in the other aisle.

Niall takes a deep breath trying to control himself. Just a few more minutes before he can get out of here.

He grabs the first bunch of bananas he can get his hands on before he all but runs to the check-out. He sighs nervously when he sees there is a long queue in front of him. Seems like half the city decided to do grocery-shopping today. Fucking great.

He rocks back and forth on his feet as he makes eye-contact with the lady behind him in line. He smiles at her politely.

"Shouldn't you be fighting off evil?" She asks him accusingly. Niall' eyes widen at how rude she is being.

"I-uh." He answers meekly. "I need to eat too."

She huffs. "Really? A super like yourself needs to eat? What if someone is dying right now and you aren't there?" Niall doesn't have an answer for that. His mouth hangs open uselessly as he stares at her. 

"Well, lady, people die all the time and I don't see you risking your life to save civilians. Perhaps you should get lost." Both Niall and the lady look at the angry-looking cashier who is glaring at the lady. His hair is black. His eyes speckled with gold, and Niall has never seen anyone as handsome as him before. Red taints his cheeks as he blushes once again.

The lady huffs again and looks away as she storms off to another queue. The golden eyes focus on him for the first time and Niall feels butterflies come alive in his stomach. "I'm sorry for how rude people are to you." The man says and sighs.

Niall is still speechless, trying to make his brain catch up. "Uh-I She..." He coughs and shakes his head. "Thanks for standing up for me..."

"Zayn." He tells the superhero with a smile. "What's your name?"

Niall opens his mouth but stops. "Nice try, Zayn." He chuckles. 

Zayn chuckles at him. "Then what can I call you?" He asks as he takes the articles Niall is buying and rings them up. 

"I never really thought about a name," Niall admits

"Well then, Superman, would you like a bag for that?" He winks at Niall, which makes the superhero flush bright red once again.

"Ah, no. I'll manage without." He says, proud that he did it without stuttering.

"That will be 2.90 then, please." Niall hands him a ten and tells him to keep the change. "For saving me today." He winks. "And perhaps I could work with The Green Strike." He repeats the name Harry had come up with.

The remark gets a laugh out of the cashier and Niall smiles with him.

"Okay, Strike, do you want the bill?" Zayn pulls the paper from the machine and takes a pen from his uniform. He quickly writes something down on it. Niall can see him add a smiley face.

"I guess I do want it now." He mutters and takes the bill, curious as to what the raven-haired god had written on it.

"See you around, Superman." Zayn winks teasingly

Niall leaves the shop with a smile, looking down at the number on the bill and the carefully written  _'Call me xx Z ;)'_

He shakes his head fondly before tucking the bill away carefully and pushing off to fly home over the city.

Next time he comes around though, he should remember to take off his suit.  


End file.
